Workington Reds assistant manager Dave Hewson hailed defender Sam Smith as Mr Reliable after a standout performance against Harrogate Town.

Smith, 22, slotted seamlessly into the heart of the defence in the absence of Josh Calvert, who was still feeling the effects of a hamstring injury picked up against Colwyn Bay.

Despite crashing out of the FA Cup after a 1-0 loss at home to Harrogate on Saturday, Smith was one of several bright performers for Workington.

Hewson said: “We had no qualms about putting Sam in. He is Mr Reliable. He will always do a job for you.”

An 83rd minute free-kick from Harrogate’s Brendan Daniels settled the tie, but Hewson believes a draw would have been a fair outcome after a tight game.

“It was disappointing,” he said. “We didn’t do enough to win the game. I thought we were worthy of a draw and a replay at their place.

“They are a league above but there wasn’t much difference between the teams.”

Workington had been due to play away at Marine tonight in the league. However, the match has been postponed because Marine will be in action in an FA Cup replay.

The Merseyside club drew 3-3 at home to Washington on Saturday.

Hewson admits the team would have liked a game midweek to give them a chance to bounce back after Saturday’s defeat, but added that the break will provide players carrying niggling injuries a chance to recover.

He said: “When you get beat or you don’t have a good performance you want to put it right.

“We have a couple of niggling injuries so it might give them a bit of extra time.”

Workington will instead train tonight and on Thursday ahead of their next league match.

Reds will be back in action on Saturday when they welcome last season’s First Division South champions Mickleover Sports at Borough Park.

Workington are unbeaten in their last five league games and have yet to lose at Borough Park in the Evo-Stik Premier Division this season.